Design & Technology at Cotsford
At Cotsford Primary all children will have the opportunity to enhance and expand their skills and techniques using a range of tools and materials. Using the Cornerstones curriculum, alongside the Kapow scheme of work, children learn about structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and food & nutrition They will research, creatively design, make and evaluate products using a range of tools, methods and materials. Children will be introduced to a range of designers and engineers including their work and will be able to develop their knowledge of the techniques used.
Please click the link for Design Technology National Curriculum Information
Summer 2
The children in EYFS have made boats as part of their work about the beach. Their boats were made of tinfoil and had to hold as many treasure chests as possible. They also made jellyfish using paper collage and different coloured ribbons. They are all amazing with the scissors now!!
Year 1 have learnt about wheels and axels. They have learnt how a vehicle moves and fixed errors so that a non moving vehicle would move. They then designed, made and evaluated their own moving vehicle. They had a lot of fun!
Wow! Year 2 have made some fabulous beach huts. They began by looking at a range of real beach huts, observing the shape of these as well as the range of colours and patterns. They explored a range of joining techniques and looked at how to strengthen joins. From this the children designed their beach hut including the measurement for the main wooden frame. Measuring the wood seemed to be the easiest part. They were very surprised to find that they were using real saws to cut their wood. After being shown how to use it safely, everyone successfully cut all their pieces of wood. Even though they had various sizes and angled cuts, they all managed to make a wooden cuboid frame. Gluing the joints using card triangles proved to be the most difficult! Decorating the outer part was where their creativity took over. I have never seen such beautifully decorated beach huts!
Year 3 children have enjoyed their textiles unit. They have worked with different fabrics to create their own cushions. This involved developing skills in designing, applique and sewing. The children have learned how to cross stich as well as running stitch. The children showed great patience and determination as they took quite a while to complete, however, the results were amazing!
What a great time Year 4 had making fan boats! They started by exploring suitable materials for a boat then they designed their own boat by thinking about the design criteria. The children loved the challenge of making their own fan boats and testing them out. Unfortunately, not everyone’s floated but those children were able to evaluate their work and improve it.
Year 5 made some absolutely delicious Spaghetti Bolognese recipes. Keeping the principle of healthy eating and seasonality in mind they adapted existing recipes to suit their tastes and the food available at the moment, to show how easy it can be to work with the ingredient we have. Everyone loved trying the food – especially Mrs Hunter who was a most willing taste tester! Finally, they designed packaging to show off their outstanding food.
In Health Week, each of the classes worked with Chef Sarah to make smoothies and omelettes. All the food was healthy and balanced and once again, everyone enjoyed trying new foods.
Year 2 came to the rescue during the historical heatwave. Recalling their knowledge and skills from their enterprize unit, they decided to make, advertise and sell smoothies and lemonade. Posters were created, they visited each of the classes to market their products and capatalised demand by selling on one of the hottest days of the year! Using their mathematical knowledge they calculated a profit of £42 once payments had been made for ingredients and packaging.
Summer 1
Wow, what a fabulous creative half term Early Years have had. They have made butterflies using junk modelling materials, animal masks and also a queen or a solider for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Year 1 have continued looking at fruit and vegetables, learning how to tell the difference and choosing their favourite to make a healthy smoothie. The children’s peeling, cutting and chopping skills are being developed well.
Year 4 have had another fantastic half term, with Chef Sarah. The children talked about different diets such as veganism, gluten-free and low fat. They used the eat well plate to design and make a healthy meal. The children were lucky enough to taste some different dishes such as vegetarian stir fry and pizza. The pictures show what a hit the dishes were!
Year 4 have also been busy exploring pneumatics and making their own toys. As you can see in the pictures, the children worked hard to contact each component and make an appealing design.
Year 5 have been looking at fabric toys, evaluating them and their intended end uses. Next, they developed a design for a fabric beanbag and produced a range of brilliant ideas. They really are a creative class! Next, they got to develop our skills measuring and cutting fabric, as well as learning a range of different stitches, including running, back, zig zag and chain stitch. It was a great exercise to help them with developing our hand eye coordination. Finally, they linked their new understanding with what would help make the best fabric toy.
Spring 2
In Early Years this term the children have made flowers using egg boxes for their Mams for Mothers Day. They painted a shape with lots of different colours and used tape to attach it to a straw. They used green tissue paper for the leaves, and the end results looked amazing.
The children have also created their own models including dog beds, bridges, castles and robots using recycled materials. Their joining skills are improving all the time and Mrs Laverick is so impressed with their models. Next term she is going to be setting a challenge, I wonder what it might be?
In Year 1 the children have enjoyed a Food and Nutrition unit in which they worked with Chef Sarah to handle and explore a range of fruits and vegetables, learning which category they fall into and what they taste like. They then used this knowledge to choose ingredients to make their own smoothie and designed their own packaging to go with it.
Children also looked at textiles. They chose a character from Jack and the Beanstalk and used it to design a puppet. They then explored different ways to cut and join felt and then used their favourite method to make their own Jack and the Beanstalk puppet.
This half term Year 2 enjoyed exploring, designing and making a pouch. They started by threading a needle and attempting to move the needle in and out of fabric. From this the children practised a running stitch, they talked about the stitch size and how making them uniform was better but harder to complete. The children loved cutting out their pouch paper template and choosing their fabric. Unfortunately, cutting the fabric was difficult with the scissors we had. Once everyone had two pieces of fabric the hard work began. Children used a needle threader independently to thread their needle and begin stitching. Wow! everyone managed to stich their fabric together to create a pouch. Once completed, the children evaluated their work.
Year 3/4 children have looked at pavilion structures researching them, before designing their own. The children then had a go at making a structure from match sticks and plasticine, but they soon worked out that they weren’t the best materials to make a pavilion. The children then used wood, glue guns and fabrics to create a sturdier structure. They learned great skills such as measuring, sawing and gluing, and how to do these safely!
Year 6 have researched and prepared a 3-course meal with Chef Sarah. They have tasted and tested their products along the way keeping in mind what a healthy balanced diet look likes. They have created menus and written recipes to take and try at home. The children have also researched the journey of their main ingredients from farm to fork.
Spring 1
Children in Early Years have made a bridge suitable for a troll from their class story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. They had to think about the size of their boxes and how to join them. The completed models were then painted and were most certainly suitable for a troll, complete with green grass and a blue river underneath!
Wow! What fun Year 4 have had with chef, Sarah this half term! They have explored Roman food and as you can see in the pictures below, they have made Roman bread, flatbreads and soup all whilst developing important hygiene and chopping skills.
Year 4 have also used their Science work on electricity to make their own torches. They started by evaluating existing torches which gave them inspiration to design their own. Even though it was a challenge, Year 4 thoroughly enjoyed trying to make their own torches.
Year 6 have made an automata toy this half term. They have used tools to measure and cut wood accurately to make the frame for their toy and have investigated different cams and axels such as circular, star and snail, and know that it is a mechanism that will enable a different rotary movement for their toy.
Autumn 2
The children in Early Years have been introduced to the sellotape dispenser! They have had lots of fun, sticking, joining and repairing their creations.
They have also completed some wonderful star constellations using string, black card and a hole punch. Mrs Laverick was so very proud of their work.
Year 1 have looked at windmills, their structure and their designs. They had fun exploring a range of materials and using them to create bases and sails, and they used this knowledge to design and make their own windmills for a mouse to live in.
Year 2 enjoyed exploring, designing and making linkages using split pins. They started by exploring a range of objects with linkages and pivots. From this the children created a 4 split pin linkage. They loved designing a moving monster but best of all loved carrying out a survey to find out what others thought of their designs. The children then made their monsters, added features and coloured them in. This inspired this years Christmas card. The children designed and created a moving present using a linkage.
Children in Year 3/4 have enjoyed the topic of bridges. They have looked at the different types of bridge, such as; arch, beam, suspension and truss, and have also looked at different bridges around the world, including the way that some of them move. After that, they made their own bridges from paper, art straws and then finally from wood.
Year 5 have designed and made some fantastic Christmas cards. They have worked on their design skills – thinking about what they want to include and why. Their pop-up designs were fantastic and the children were very excited to share them with family at home. For the final part of the process they have worked on their evaluation skills – looking critically at their products and thinking about what went well and what they could do differently next time!
